Harman Kardon AVR 354 Owner's Manual

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Harman Kardon AVR 354 Owner's Manual Manual pdf 54 page image

54 54ADVANCED FUNCTIONSMultizone OperationThe AVR 354 offers the benefits of multizone operation, a rarity in areceiver this affordable. With the multizone system in use, you may enjoyan exciting 5.1-channel home theater presentation in the main listeningarea, while others listen to the same materials or an entirely differentpresentation in another room.Although installation of a multizone system is not complicated, it requiresrunning wires inside walls. We urge you to check your local buildingcodes and comply with the requirements for in-wall wiring systems toprevent the possibility of a dangerous situation. If you have any questionsabout installing a multiroom system, we strongly recommend that youcontact a professional custom installer.Installing a Multizone SystemA typical multizone system consists of only one remote room in theremote zone. That is, you connect only one pair of loudspeakers to theAVR 354, placing those speakers in the remote room the same wayyou would place the front left and right speakers in the main listeningroom. It is not recommended that you place the left and rightmultizone speakers in different rooms.To use the AVR 354 with more than one remote room, purchase amultichannel external amplifier that enables you to connect several pairsof loudspeakers. However, the AVR 354 only outputs one remote zone,meaning that only one signal is sent through the multizone system.All remote rooms will hear the same source, even when a multichannelamplifier is used.There are two ways of connecting the remote speakers to the AVR 354:a) Connect the speakers to the left and right Surround Back/Zone 2Speaker Outputs on the rear panel of the AVR 354. This is thesimplest type of multizone system. However, it is not recommendedfor long speaker-wire runs (e.g., more than 25 feet), as the audiosignal tends to degrade over long distances. If your application wouldrequire a long speaker-wire run, consider option b below.b) Purchase an external amplifier. Connect the Surround Back/Zone 2Preamp Outputs or the Zone 2 Audio Outputs to the amplifier’sinputs. You may place the amplifier either in the main listening roomor the remote room. Placing the amplifier in the main listening roomwould require the use of long speaker wires to reach the remoteroom, while placing the amplifier in the remote room calls for theopposite – long interconnect cables and short speaker wires.When you use either the Surround Back/Zone 2 Speaker Outputs or theSurround Back/Zone 2 Preamp Outputs for a multizone system, you willnot be able to use the surround back speakers with your main system,which will then be limited to 5.1 channels. However, when the multizonesystem is turned off, you may reassign your remote speakers to the mainlistening room for 7.1-channel operation.You may install an optional remote infrared (IR) receiver in the remoteroom and connect it to the Zone 2 IR Input on the back of the receiver.This lets you use the included Zone 2 remote, a keypad or anothercontrol device to turn the multizone system on or off, select a sourceinput, and operate any source devices that are connected in daisychainfashion to the AVR 354’s Remote IR Output.You may use the above connection methods simultaneously to increasethe total number of remote rooms in your system. Remember thatsending control commands from one room in the system will affectthe entire remote zone of the multizone system.Operating the Multizone SystemThe AVR 354’s multizone system is accessed using the on-screenZone 2 menu. Press the AVR Button to display the menu System,and use the ⁄ /¤ Buttons to navigate to the Zone 2 line. Press theOK Button to display the Zone Control menu. See Figure 74.Figure 74 – Zone 2 MenuStatus: This line is used to turn the multizone system on or off. Whenno one is listening in the remote room, leave this setting at the defaultof OFF.Source: This line indicates the source input selected for the remotezone. You may select any source input for which a device has beenconnected to the AVR 354, even when a different source is beingenjoyed in the main listening area. However, if the tuner has beenselected for simultaneous operation in both the main listening area andthe remote zone, listeners in both areas will hear the same radio station.NOTE: Only analog audio sources are available to the multizonesystem. To hear digital devices, such as a CD player, in theremote zone, follow these steps:1. In addition to a digital audio connection, connect the sourcedevice’s analog audio outputs to any available analog audioinputs on the AVR, noting in Table A5 in the appendix whichset of inputs was used.2. In the Setup Source menu, leave the Audio Source setting atthe digital audio input. However, scroll down to the Zone 2 Audiosetting and select the analog audio source used in step 1.Volume: The volume is controlled separately for the remote zone.Surround Back Amps: This line is used to reassign the surround backchannels to the multizone system, enabling you to connect speakersfor a remote room without using an external amplifier (unless you areconnecting the Surround Back/Zone 2 Preamp Outputs to an externalamplifier to power the speakers). When this line is set to Zone 2, you mayonly configure the main listening room for up to 5.1 channels. EzSet/EQwill only configure the main 5.1-channel system. Use the Manual Setup